Borough council says area's air quality is improving

Air quality is improving in two out of three areas in Wokingham, the borough council has said

Falling levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in two out of three areas being monitored in a town show that air quality is improving, a council has said.

Wokingham Borough Council said the rise in working from home, as well as more people switching to electric cars, means it is now meeting government air quality targets.

Transport is the biggest single cause of NO2, which in large quantities can inflame the lining of the lungs, leaving people short of breath, especially those with asthma.

In a bid to bring levels down, three Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) were declared in Wokingham, with the first set up in 2001.

The council said the completion of the M4 smart motorway in 2022 had helped reduce NO2 levels, due to smoother traffic flows and reduced pollution.

Air pollution levels alongside the motorway as it passes through the borough and in Twyford are now both below the government’s limit.

And while NO2 levels in the heart of Wokingham are falling they remain slightly too high, the council said.

Council leader Stephen Conway said the biggest contributing factor was "changes in technology of vehicles"

Council leader Stephen Conway said: “Ultimately we are trying to divert traffic away from the town centre… and that is the long term solution.

“The shorter term solutions are trying to encourage more people to use public transport, walk or cycle where that’s an appropriate alternative than using their car.”

Thousands of new homes are due to be built in the borough over the next decade, leading to concerns about an increase in traffic.

Marta O’Brien from the University of Reading questioned how vehicles would avoid the town

Marta O’Brien, specialist in analytical chemistry at the University of Reading, said: “With all those new developments we expect the number of cars to increase, so what is the council going to do to make sure those cars don’t go through the town?”

The council said it is already trying to limit the number of houses the government has said should be built, and is also working on ways to route more traffic around the outskirts of Wokingham.

With two of its three NO2 targets met, it is now focusing its efforts on bringing down levels in the centre of Wokingham.